Automatic magazine-sign.



L. H. WATTS.

AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE SIGN. APPLICATION FILED NOV 25, 1912.

1,082,878. Patented 0%,23, 1913.

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ATTORNEY.

COLUMBM PLANOGRAPH CO.. WASHINGTON D c.

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' L. H. WATTS. AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE SIGN. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1912.

1,082,378. Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

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ATTORNEY,

COLUMBIA PLANQGRAPH C0..WASHINOTDYL D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS H. WATTS, OF KANSAS CI Y, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To EDWARD T. MecAnTHY, or KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE-SIGN.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEWIS H. WATTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Magazine-Signs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of advertising machines in which a series of dif ferent advertisements of a printed or pictorial character, are successively presented to the view of the public by automatic means.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character which will con tain a large number of units in a small space, and will be attractive in its method of shifting the units at regular intervals. I have avoided the old idea of a continuous web that is wound upon reels as being objectionable and unattractive in operation.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view, omitting a motor, and showing the series of sheets and carrier-bars in elevation of a machine embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view, sectioned on a line IIII, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the principal upper and lower portions of the mechanism, sectioned on a line IIIII1 of Fig. 1, the intermediate portions of the parts being broken out; Fig. 41- is a reduced-scale elevation of one of the sheets with its carrier-bars; Fig. 5 is a detail section of one of the carrier-bars, showing the preferred manner of attaching the sheets thereto.

The entire apparatus is housed in a cabinet, of which, 1 designates the sides, 2, the back, and 3 the top. The front 4, has cut therein a large rectangular opening S,- through which the advertisements are viewed. Said opening is surrounded by con cave molding 5, 6, 7, at the top, sides and bottom, respectively. Suspended within said cabinet are a plurality of pairs of sheets 8-8, each of which is constructed in the following manner, and as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and a: Each sheet 8 is rectangular in form, and has the same, or greater, dimensions as the sight opening S in the cabinet. Preferably, the sheets are of woven fabric Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 25, 1912.

Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

Serial No. 733,359.

such as muslin or light canvas. The two sheets depend from opposite sides of a carrier bar 9, which has opposite recesses cut therein, of about inch in depth and of a breadth adapted to receive the upper edges of the sheets 8. The said edges are folded over the bar 9, one over the other, as shown in Fig. 5, and are fastened in position by suitable Ushaped clips 10. The lower edges of the pair of sheets are attached in the same manner to a carrier bar 9, which is an exact duplicate of the one just described. The matter to be displayed is printed, painted, or otherwise applied to the sheets 8.

The upper series of carrier bars 9 are supported by their ends in horizontal alinement by a pair of horizontal angle-rails 11, secured to the cabinet sides I. Said rails stop short of the front and back of the cabinet. Each carrier bar 9 is provided with a pair of right-angled hooks 12, whose purpose will be explained. The hooks on the upper series of bars 9 point toward the rear of the cabinet, while the hooks on the lower series of bars point in the opposite direction. The upper and lower bars 9 of each connected pair are further connected by a pair of metallic tapes 13, which are rather stiff and have the function of temporarily supporting the upper bar 9 at certain times, as will be described. Said tapes are inserted in slits or kerfs in the bars, and secured by pins or screws 14. The sheets 8-8 are held taut and smooth, of course, by the weight of the lower suspended bars 9.

15 designates a pair of channel-bars which are secured vertically to the respective cabinet sides 1, and in contact with the forward ends of the horizontal angle-rails 11. As shown at 15, Fig. 1, a part of the inner flange of each channel-bar 15 is cut away in front of the upper series of carrier bars 9, whereby the ends of said bars may successively enter said channels when forwardly shifted. The lower end of each channel-bar 15 is so out that the rearward flange stops short of the forward flange. As a continuation of said rearward flange, a curved flange 16 is provided which extends rearwardly and is fixed in position by a knee-lug 36. This construction is the same on both sides of the machine. The channels of the bars 15 are of such width as to receive, loosely, the ends of the carrier bars 9. Just in front of the ends of the lower series of carrier bars, the rear flange of each channel-bar 15 is cut away, as shown at 16, on Fig. 1.

Secured to the cabinet sides 1, at the rear of the series of sheets 88 are a pair of vertically extending channel-bars 17. The top of the forward flange of each channelbar 17, is joined to the rearward end of the lateral flange of the adjacent angle-rail 11. The back and rearward flange of each vertical bar 17 extends to, or slightly above, the tops of the carrier-bars.

WVithin the upper part of each channelbar 17, and secured to the rearward flange thereof, is the lower portion 18 of a strong leaf spring 19, which extends obliquely across the channel-bar and bears forwardly upon the hindmost carrier bar 9, and upon the corner formed by the bars 11 and 17, which serves as a stop for the spring.

Secured to the cabinet sides at the upper ends of the channel-bars 17 are stop-lugs 20, whose purpose will presently be understood.

The sheets 88 are caused to circulate from front to back of the cabinet, by means of a pair of link belts or sprocket chains 21, which are carried close to and parallel with the guiding bars 15, 16 and 17 for that purpose. Each of said chains is mounted upon four sprocket wheels 22, 23, 24, and 25. The pair of sprocket wheels 22 are mounted on a transverse shaft 26, having bearings at the rear of the upper ends of channel-bars 17. The pair of sprocket wheels 23 are mounted on a transverse shaft 27, having bearings 28 below the lower series of carrier-bars 9. This shaft 27 also carries a roller 29, having hub ends 30. Said roller is in length, equal to the width of the sheets 88, and is in diameter about the same as that of its associated sprocket wheels 23. The pair of sprocket wheels 24 are mounted on a transverse shaft 31, which is directly below the top shaft 26, and any convenient distance below the roller shaft 27 and has bearings 32. The remaining pair of sprocket wheels 25, are mounted on a transverse shaft 33, which is directly below the vertical channel-bars 15 and at such height that the chains 21 extend parallel to the straight parts of the bottom guiding flanges 16. Said chains extend from sprockets 25 to sprockets 23, thence upward to sprockets 22, thence downward to sprockets 24, and thence forward to sprockets 25, and travel in the direction indicated. For driving said chains, power may be applied thereto or to one of the shafts 31, 33, in any desired manner, not calling for illustrations in the drawings. Two links of each chain 21, lo: cated at opposite points in the chain, are provided with laterally projecting pins or lugs, 34, either of which is adapted to engage one hook 12 of each of the entire numbar of carrier-bars 9, when such bar assumes a position at the bottom of the forward channel-bars 15, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. Said lugs 34 are of course arranged opposite each other on the two chains, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the upper part of each forward vertical channel-bar 15 is mounted a leaf spring 35, which extends downward and rearward, part way across the channel, and has for its function to check, hold or arrest the descent of each carrier-bar 9, at such a point that the sheets 8 suspended from said bar will be exactly framed within the sight opening in which position the bar 9 is shown in The complete operation will be substantially as follows: The top carrier-bar 9 has previously been pushed off the forward ends of the supporting angle-rails 11, dropped into the vertical guides 15, and fallen until arrested as shown by the springs 35. This forward movement of the upper series of bars 9, upon the angle-bar rails 11, has already swung the bottom bar 9, of the foremost pair of sheets forward through the recess 16 in the rear flanges of vertical channel-bar 15. Then, as the top bar 9 falls toward the check-springs 35, the lower bar 9 falls to the position shown in Fig. 1, in which position its hooks 12 hang in position to be engaged by either of the driving lugs 34 of the chains 21. The said lugs are timed so that one has just passed said point before a bar 9 drops thereto; thus the front sheet 8 will be displayed for the full interval terminated by the arrival of the next driving lug at the engaging point. As soon as the (opposite) lugs engage the hooks 12 of a carrier-bar, the bar is drawn rearward, sliding against the lower face of the guiding flange 16; said motion pulls the upper carrier-bar of the set down past the springs 35 (which is permitted by the yielding of the springs to the extra force). Said upper bar would then fall rapidly, were it not for the stiff metallic tapes 13, which support the bar and prevent the sheets 88 from collapsing, during its downward movement. The pair of sheets just mentioned are drawn upward between the rear guides 17, until their top bar 9 bends the springs 19 rearwarclly, and passing in front of them, strikes the stops 20. As soon as said bar passes above the rails 11, the springs 19, by pressing thereon, move the whole series of bars 9 forward, and the hooks 12 disengage themselves from the driving pins 34. Said forward movement pushes the foremost bar 9 off the tracks 11, and said bar falls upon the stop-springs 35. An important feature of the operation is that each unit or pair of sheets is reversed and inverted during its passage from front to back of the series, and remains in such reversed and inverted position until again displayed; thereby the opposite sides of the pair are exhibited alternately. If but one sheet or unit be employed, the signs will be printed or painted upon opposite sides thereof. The chains being continuously driven, the hereinbefore described movements are performed by each pair of the sheets in succession, the series being constantly renewed at the rear and drawn from at the front.

Various modifications in proportions, and from the precise construction seen in the drawings, fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a series of circulating units each comprising an upper carrier-bar, a lower carrier-bar, and a sheet attached to said bars at its upper and lower edges; horizontal rails for supporting the top channel-bars; vertical channel-bars extending downward from the forward ends of said rails, each of said channel-bars having an opening in its rear flange to receive the bottom carrier-bar of one unit; vertical channel-bars at the rear of said series, extending upward to the top carrier-bars, each of said rear channel-bars having an opening in its front flange to permit the bottom carrier-bar of the rearmost unit to move forward; endless chains for conveying each unit from the front to the back of the series; driving projections on said chains; hooks on said carrier-bars, adapted for engagement by said chains; sprocket wheels for guiding said chains; means for moving the series of units forward at regular intervals, said movement pushing the carrier-bar of the foremost unit from the supporting rails into the channel of the forward channel-bar; and springs arranged in said channels to stop the descent of the last named carrier-bar at a point slightly below the normal level of the carrier-bars; said springs being overcome by the pull of the chains, after a predetermined interval, upon the hooks of the bottom carrier-bar of said unit.

2. In a device of the kind described, a flexible sheet, two carrier-bars attached respectively to the upper and lower edges of the sheet, a pair of opposed, vertically-extending channel-bars adapted to guide the ends of the upper carrier-bar during the downward motion thereof, and metallic tapes extending vertically between and connecting the two carrier-bars, said tapes being sufficiently rigid to prevent collapse of said sheet when the ends of the upper carrier-bar are descending in said channel-bars.

3. In a device of the kind described, a series of circulating units, each comprising a sheet, and carrier bars at the upper and lower edges of each sheet; horizontal rails for supporting the ends of the top carrier bars, vertical channels at the front of the series to receive the units one by one as they pass forward from the horizontal rails, vertical channels at the rear of the series to guide the carrier bars up to the horizontal rails, all of said vertical channels having openings near their lower terminals for the passage of the lowermost carrier bars, horizontal guides communicating with the lower portions of the channels to guide the carrier bars from the front channels to the rear channels, hooks on the carrier bars, driven chains paralleling the lower horizontal guides and the rear channels, means on said chains to engage the hooks and carry each unit from the front channels to the upper portion of the rear channels, and resilient means to force each unit from the rear channels to the upper horizontal rails, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

LENIS H. WATTS.

'Witnesses F. G. FISCHER, L. J. FIsoHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

